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Tag Archives: Speckled Trout

Winner, winner, chicken dinner

September 25, 2012
Fishing, Fly Fishing, Saltwater, Tournaments
3 Comments

I found out yesterday that this 16″ speck, caught July 4th, just won me a TFO BVK fly rod.

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I entered the fish in the Fly East division of CCA’s STAR tournament, which runs throughout the summer. The fly division rules require you catch one speck on the fly (14″ minimum) and have it weighed at a registered weigh station. No, the fish didn’t win the division, it actually got 3rd (which I found surprising because it only weighed 1.37 lbs). It won me a fly rod because this fish was my ticket into a bonus drawing that is held in both the fly and kayak divisions for all non-winners of the fly and kayak divisions. The winner of the drawing gets a TFO rod, a BVK for the combined fly divisions, and a Saltwater Series baitcaster for the kayak divisions. According to an email I got yesterday afternoon my name was the one that was drawn!

This is a tournament I sign up for every year, but never really fish for because I’m not really a speckled trout fisherman. I sign up because it’s like an insurance policy in case I catch a tagged red. That day, Blake and I just happened upon a school of specks that day in the marsh while we were heading out for redfish.

We almost didn’t even weigh the fish in. I knew it was smaller than the fish that was in the lead, so I would only be weighing it in for a shot at the raffle. Compound that with the fact that there wasn’t a registered weigh station on the way home and it being July 4th meant nobody would be open to weigh it in anyway, we pretty much had made the decision not to weigh it. I made a few phone calls to places slightly out of the way, just to check and sure enough someone answered at Eschete’s in Houma. The guy lived next door and had no problem walking over to the shop to weigh my fish. So a big thanks goes out to him for being receptive. Also a big thanks to Blake because he was driving that day.

You can check out the CCA leaderboard here: http://www.ccastar.com/current-leaderboard

Beck’s Sili Legs variant SBS

July 23, 2012
Fly Fishing, Fly Tying
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Fly of the month for July is a variant of Beck’s sili legs. It was a Beck’s sili legs that slayed the trout and ladyfish on July 4th. It probably wasn’t originally intended to catch Gulf Coast speckled trout, but proved effective on Independence Day. As with every fly of the month, this version was tied by Blake Leblanc.

Materials:

–          Hook: Mustad 34007, Size 4

–          Thread: 3/0 Monocord

–          Flash: Pearl Krystal Flash

–          Weight: Dumbbell Eyes

–          Wing: Calf Tail

–          Legs: Silicone skirt material

1. Start thread on the hook. Wrap a smooth base layer from behind the eye to above the barb. Tie in a few strands of flash and wrap them up to a point about one eye length behind the hook eye.

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2. Tie the flash back down the shank to the spot above the barb creating a smooth under body. This also creates a small bump near the eye of the hook that will aide in tying in the dumbbell eyes. Bring thread to the bump behind the eye

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3. Coat the shank with a layer of Hard as Nails and wrap the flash around the shank. Tie off at the bump. I will normally put a layer of hard as nails on top as well.

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4. Tie in the dumbbell eyes, using figure 8 wraps, pressed up against the bump made by the flash. I think this secures the eyes a little better. This should leave you with just enough room to tie in the wing and legs.

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5. Tie in the legs on one side first. Then fold them back to the other side and tie them in on the other side. I like to tie them in on top of the dumbbell eyes. I used the rubber material that I bought from here. http://www.jannsnetcraft.com/skirt-making-material/036620300008.aspx. It’s good for everything, but great for nothing.

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6. Tie in an over wing of calf tail. I try to even the tips a little, but not so much that I lose the taper.

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7. Whip finish, coat with hard as nails. Finished Fly. Enjoy

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Speck-tacular Saturday

July 9, 2012
Fishing, Saltwater
1 Comment

Another corny title, with a touch of alliteration, but Saturday truly was spectacular. Got the invite from cousin Toby to join he and his father in law for some offshore speck fishing. Early on thunderstorms threatened to ruin our day, but we were able to fish around them and pick up a few fish here and there. By the afternoon the storms cleared out and we were able to get to where we wanted to go and we soon began to catch fish with some frequency. We ended the day with around 75 specks, caught between 4 of us, with the biggest coming in around 3 lbs and the average being about 1.5 lbs. We didn’t have to measure a single fish, none were “Cocodrie trout” as Toby’s FIL called them. All our fish were caught on artificials, majority coming on shad rigs. Not being speck fishermen, Toby caught his first and largest of his life and I caught some of the biggest I’ve ever caught, definitely rivaling those I caught in the Chandeleurs a few years back. It was a great time, a good change of pace to hit somewhere new learning some new techniques. My freezer is now fully stocked with fish after Wednesday and Saturday’s trips.

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